


We Were Always Waiting

by bananasenpai (bananasenapi)



Series: Quartet Hearts [1]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Foursome - M/M/M/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Sibling Incest, i'll probably update this as i add chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 18:00:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5100326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananasenapi/pseuds/bananasenpai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Mink saves Sei from Oval Tower, and Aoba and Koujaku go looking for Mink only to find that he is alive and well, living with none other then Sei himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Were Always Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> this work will be part of a series that will mostly contain drabbles but i wanted to give a little insight on how the four of them began their relationship in the first place. :^)  
> eventually there will be some sei/aoba, but don't flame me for it. in this fic they don't know they're even brothers, and they were never even raised as brothers and they're technically synthetic humans anyway so??  
> idk the four of them are cute, expect more to come !!

"He was just like a toy with his eyes closed like that. The regret and sadness rushed in as I looked at his husk of a body."

Mink remembered hearing Aoba say that yesterday night. Mink hadn’t really paid much attention to the conversation that night – it was mostly irrelevant considering Mink planned to be gone by tomorrow. Koujaku, however, questioned Aoba on if what he saw was real. At that point, Mink stopped listening, but now, he couldn’t help but think back on that conversation.

Facing Mink now was what looked just like Aoba had mentioned. He looked frail, almost weak – lifeless. His eyes, however, were wide open, full of curiosity and longing. He seemed to be waiting for something, for what, though, Mink couldn’t tell.

Mink had made it in to Platinum Jail without much of a problem – his team had found an easy way to sneak in and set up the necessary camp they needed as a base of operations. His plan was as it always had been – get in to Platinum Jail, set up the explosives inside of Oval Tower, detonate them from the inside and gain intel before bailing as quick as he could. He was hoping to use Aoba as an easier access inside of Platinum Jail, but Aoba had decided to take Red along instead. It really didn’t matter to Mink either way, but Mink wasn’t expecting to run in to the two of them.

They met each other inside one of Platinum Jail’s infamous clubs, Aoba expressing much more surprise than Red or Mink. It proved useful to Mink, considering Aoba had plans to get inside of Oval Tower as well. Mink suggested that he stay at the hotel both Aoba and Red were staying at (to the obvious annoyance of Red), but Aoba agreed.

While at the hotel, Mink spoke of strategy. He mentioned multiple ways to infiltrate Oval Towel, along with security positions outside. Inside they were pretty much on their own, but Mink offered an easy way to get inside. Red seemed rather cautious about the whole thing, obviously considering Aoba’s safety. Mink reassured them that Mink was going to have a few guys of his own inside of the tower, and multiple escape routes planned, so the two of them should be relatively safe. It was then that Aoba looked up at Mink and stared at him, asking the question that Mink really didn’t want to hear. “What about you?”

Mink sighed as he continued, “We have explosives set all around the tower, but I need to get intel inside before we can detonate them. So,” he glanced at Red, then back to Aoba. “I have to be alone. Once I get what I need, I’ll detonate the bombs that are on a timer. The timer is only set to one minute, so you two need an immediate escape route located. I can send a signal to both of your coils that I’m about to start the timer, to make sure you guys know how much time you have left.” Honestly, this was all a bit tiring – as much as he cared for their safety, he hadn’t done this much talking in what feels like forever. “Do you two understand?”

Aoba still seemed a bit distressed, as Mink hadn’t answered his question. So he repeated. “…what about you?”

Mink cast a sidelong glance at Red, and he seemed to understand – Mink didn’t really plan to leave Oval Tower. He was going to send the information he needed to his guys and he was going to die in that tower. It had been his plan from the very start. To satiate Aoba, however, he sighed and replied. “I have an escape plan already in place. Don’t worry about me.”

Although Aoba didn’t seem entirely convinced, he had no room to argue.

As Mink’s mind wandered back to the present, he found himself staring at the boy in front of him once more. Despite the smoke emitting from the walls and the obvious fire alarms blaring, he didn’t budge from his cushiony seat. Mink found it odd – something was obviously amiss inside of the tower, but yet the boy didn’t make any movements.

As Mink stared, the smoke began to burn his contact-less eyes. He knew the smoke would have ruined his eyes if he had kept his contacts in, and although he was unguarded from Scrap, it wouldn’t matter. He just needed to be able to read the information and relay it via his coil – therefore he needed his vision more than protection. He reached up to rub at his eyes, before looking back at the boy. “Aren’t you going to leave?” Mink finally said, not making a move.

The frail man just tilted his head, looking as if he didn’t understand. The boy stared and stared, his eyes giving off a faint glint. The same glint Mink usually saw inside of Platinum Jail’s club. Did this boy use Scrap? Before Mink could look away, however, his world went black.

When Mink could finally realize what was going on, he cursed himself for not being careful enough. He had just been Scrapped, and was now inside of his own mind, barely conscious. He could feel the chains against his body, the telltale sign of his past weighing down on him. He felt the chains over his eyes, his arms, legs, torso, wrists – everywhere a chain could fit around him, there they were. They were tight, suffocating him with every breath. He was knelt down, crouched over the floor but he didn’t move, nor make a sound. He knew why those chains were there, and he could easily just let them go, but every time his fingers tried to loosen against the chains, the rest of the chains constricted him further. He could barely breathe, but he remained calm because he understood. He understood everything.

Suddenly he could hear voices – “What about you?” That same sentence repeated itself over and over, all around him. It was Aoba’s voice, but…it seemed distorted in a way Mink couldn’t quite pinpoint. Mink didn’t say a word.

“What about you? What about you? What about you?”

Mink ground his teeth together as he was forced to contemplate the question. He remembered last night and how he had planned to die inside of Oval Tower – there would be no one to miss him, and his team would have what they needed. Mink would get his final revenge – killing Toue – and he could die without a single regret.

Or that’s what Mink liked to think.

In reality, Mink carried many regrets on his shoulders. He would die inside of that tower with words he never got to say, with things he never got to do, for the lives he couldn’t save – But Mink wanted it to go away. He wanted out of this hellish world and he just wanted to forget. Forget. Forget.

He knew it was selfish.

He knew his team would miss him. He knew Aoba would miss him.

But Mink was tired.

“What about you? What about you? What about you?”

Just as Mink began to struggle against his chains, however, another voice rung inside of the room.

“Aren’t you going to leave?”

It was his own voice from before, when he had asked the boy if he was going to leave the tower. Mink stopped struggling, listening to the voices more intently to see if there was going to be a change.

“Aren’t you going to leave?”

Mink shuddered as he listened to his own voice repeating his question. He heard it over, and over, and over and Mink wanted it to stop –

“…what about you?” A different voice sounded this time. Softer. Unfamiliar.

Mink’s ears strained to hear the voice, he could barely make out the words. They were the same words as before, but they sounded less threatening compared to the voices before. Mink’s head lifted a bit as he listened, and he began to hear light footsteps coming toward him. Mink wasn’t afraid.

“Are you going to leave, too?”

The voice sounded again, but it wasn’t the same words as before. It was a question directed at him, but Mink couldn’t open his mouth to answer. So he just listened.

“I want to leave this tower.” The voice sounded again, closer, before a pair of hands reached up to cradle Mink’s cheeks. “I can’t do it on my own, though. I’m too weak.”

The voice sounded sad, but not undetermined. Before Mink could think of any words to say, the voice spoke again. “I’m sure you want to leave, too, right?” A thumb rubbed against Mink’s firm cheek, continuing. “Surely you don’t want to die here. You don’t want this to be the end.”

Mink, still unable to say anything, began to rattle his chains. The reality of the voice’s words were getting to him, and Mink wished he could break these shackles. He wanted to be free.

“You want to live. Right?”

The next thing Mink knew he was back at the tower, staring at the boy just like before he blacked out. Mink’s brow furrowed as he looked the boy up and down, as if contemplating what to do. Seeming to make up his mind, Mink took a step forward, opening his mouth to speak. “Can you stand?” The boy nodded and stood, albeit a bit slowly. This wouldn’t do. Mink glanced down at his Coil to see how much time they had left to evacuate.

Barely over thirty seconds.

Mink cursed under his breath and took long strides in to the room, facing the boy. “I need you to get on my back.” The boy seemed to hesitate, and it was obvious he didn’t know if he could do it. Mink turned around and knelt down on one knee, holding his arms back as to motion to the boy that he was ready. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall.”

The boy took a moment, but eventually placed his arms around Mink’s neck, giving a little push off before Mink stood suddenly, much to the surprise of the boy. Mink easily maneuvered the boy’s legs, however, and soon enough they were bolting down the hall, the boy clutching desperately at Mink’s shoulders.

Mink had told Aoba that he had a plan to escape, but in reality, Mink only knew one way out of the tower, and that was the way they had come in – through an entrance from the roof. Mink’s motorcycle was still sitting up there, and they would be able to make it if Mink kept up the fast pace. Mink glanced down at his Coil once more – nineteen seconds.

The rest of the run was mostly a blur, there was no interference from security since they had either been killed or evacuated. As Mink burst through the door to the roof, he thanked the Gods that his motorcycle was still there. He quickly came up to it and set the boy down on the back end, before swinging his leg across and sitting down as well. One last glance at his Coil – five seconds – and he wrapped the boy’s arms around him. “Hold on a tight as you can. Don’t let go.”

The boy did as he was told, but Mink knew that his grip was weak. As a precaution, Mink placed his hand over the boys own two, and held them together as best as he could. It was obviously uncomfortable for the boy, but at this point, Mink had no choice. He quickly started his motorcycle with his free hand revved it up, looking straight ahead. He would ramp off of the roof and on to the building beneath it, which had a ramp secured to get to the ground. Taking a deep breath, he revved up once more and opened his mouth. “What’s your name?”

The boy took a moment before replying, but spoke up in that same soft voice that he heard in his head. “Sei.”

Mink stopped himself from snorting when he heard the name. Sei, how fitting – it meant life, and without Sei, Mink wouldn’t be alive.

“Alright Sei, here we go.”

-

Back at Jump Shop Heibon a few months later, Aoba finds himself at a standstill. His fingers hover over the keyboard of his Coil, a blank message open and the recipient is none other than Koujaku. Aoba had been contemplating asking Koujaku out on a date for a few days now, since after the fall of Oval Tower they confessed their feelings for each other. They had yet to go on a proper date despite being dating for nearly two months – they would visit Mizuki’s shop and sometimes go out to a bar or two, but Aoba hardly considered that a ‘date’. Sure, lounging around Koujaku’s apartment was fun in itself, but Aoba really wanted to get out and just _do_ something.

It took Aoba a few more minutes to think of what to say, until he was finally typing away.

‘Hey Kou! I get off of work a little early today, we should go out and do something after I get off.’

Aoba pressed the send button and sighed again, hoping Koujaku would take the hint of “do something” as “let’s go on a date”. As Aoba waited for a reply he continued doing inventory of the shelves in the shop, since Haga wasn’t here to do it himself. The beep of his coil sounded and Aoba nearly jumped, surprised at how quickly Koujaku had replied.

‘Like the bar? That’s fine with me.’

Aoba groaned at the blissfully oblivious Koujaku. He opened up the reply message and typed his next message without any hesitation, since at this point he was a bit annoyed.

‘No, out to dinner or something. Like a date.’

Aoba shut off his Coil and rubbed his temple for a moment before resuming work. He promised Haga he would finish inventory by today, and Aoba was a man of his word. After a good ten minutes of taking inventory, Aoba became aware of the fact that Koujaku hadn’t replied yet. Was he busy? That was unlikely, unless… He was probably embarrassed at the message and didn’t know how to respond. The thought had Aoba chuckling to himself, and as if on cue, his Coil beeped at the indication of a new message. Aoba opened up the message and smiled warmly as he read.

‘A date huh? We haven’t actually had one of those, so it would probably be good for both of us! I can take you to one of my favorite places in town, if that’s fine with you.’

Aoba replied, sending a quick, ‘That’s perfect. See you at 5.’ Before turning his Coil off to finish his work. He should finish around 3 P.M, and Haga said Aoba could leave as soon as inventory was ready, so that gave Aoba two hours to get ready for his date tonight. The rest of his shift he couldn’t help but work with a huge grin on his face. He was so excited.

-

Aoba stood in front of his mirror, looking himself over one last time before finally decided he looked good enough for his and Koujaku’s date. He swapped his normal Jerry Blaine jacket for a much lighter, sleeker one that he always kept in handy for outings. Besides, Koujaku always complained about Aoba’s usual jacket, so Aoba would oblige his boyfriend this time since it was a rather special night.

Just as Aoba was about to sit on his bed and wait for Koujaku to knock on the door, Tae called him downstairs. He blinked and stood, grabbing his house keys before leaving his room and heading downstairs. He turned the corner and was about to call out to Tae, he stopped as he spotted Koujaku waiting in the living room, sitting on the couch. Aoba couldn’t help but smile as he spoke. “You’re a little early, Kou.” He said, walking up to the other. Koujaku seemed a bit startled as he bolted up from the couch, eyes wide.

“Ah, Aoba!” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck – a nervous habit that Aoba picked up on. “Sorry, I just…” He paused, glancing to the side. Aoba could see a little bit of red in his cheeks. “I figured we could go on a little walk before we head out to dinner?”

Aoba immediately lit up, smiling wider. “That sounds awesome.”

He peeked his head inside of the kitchen to tell Tae goodbye, and she waved him off with a grumble.

They let the house after that, and when they got in to town, Aoba reached his hand towards Koujaku’s own, and he took the hint and entwined their fingers together as they walked down the streets of Midorijima. It was a calm night, considering it was a weekday, which Aoba found very appealing. He could really take the time to enjoy Koujaku’s hand in his own, and he could walk a little closer to Koujaku without feeling embarrassed. Aoba never asked Koujaku where the restaurant was, but Aoba also liked the element of surprise.

They walked around for about twenty minutes before Koujaku finally took an unexpected turn, stopping in front of a very traditional-looking building. “Well, here we are.” He led Aoba inside, waving to one of the waitresses that he probably knew from coming to this restaurant often. “Table for two, please.” Koujaku said to the waiter in question, and she glanced at Aoba before smiling and leading them to a table.

-

“That place was really good, Kou! We should go again sometime.” Aoba sighed, feeling completely content. He was holding on to Koujaku’s arm, practically glued to his side as they made their way to Koujaku’s apartment for the night.

Koujaku was smiling as they walked side by side, a little hop in his step. He was happy to have gotten a chance to show Aoba his favorite place to eat, (next to Tae’s home cooking) and being able to have an actual date with him made him absolutely giddy. “Of course, Aoba. We should plan dates more often. Tonight was really nice.”

Aoba’s grip tightened around Koujaku’s arm, smiling even wider. “Definitely.”

As they walked, Aoba looked around and watched as the night became livelier as more night dwellers emerged. He glanced inside the alley ways, inside the windows of the stores, just enjoying the view. Not much had changed since the fall of Oval Tower, but Aoba knew he could rest easy knowing that all of these people would now be safe.

As Aoba looked around, he noticed a familiar face standing at the corner of a store. A man he had seen somewhere before, but…where? As they passed the man, Aoba though back to Oval Tower, back to the fight with Koujaku and Ryuuhou, back to the conversation with Koujaku and Mink about escape plans… Of course! That man was from Mink’s team, Scratch. Aoba hadn’t seen Mink since the fall of Oval Tower, and even though Mink had assured him that he had an escape plan and Aoba shouldn’t worry… Aoba couldn’t help the terrible thoughts that made their way in to his head. Was Mink okay?

Koujaku could see the distress in Aoba’s eyes, and they stopped walking so Koujaku could confront him. “Aoba? Are you okay?”

“Do you know what happened to Mink?” Aoba practically ignored Koujaku’s question, but now Aoba was extremely worried and he needed to know.

Koujaku arched an eyebrow at such a sudden question, but Koujaku remembered. He remembered when the two of them made eye contact inside of that hotel, and Koujaku remembered seeing the sadness in Mink’s eyes. He never really planned to leave Oval Tower, even though he had told Aoba he had an escape plan. Even though this was what Koujaku assumed, he couldn’t be for sure, and he couldn’t bring himself to tell Aoba such bad news.

“…no, I don’t. They said they didn’t find anything inside of Oval Tower after it collapsed, so… He’s probably okay.” Koujaku put a hand on Aoba’s shoulder, trying to comfort him as best he could.

“I don’t like the sound of ‘probably’, Kou.” Aoba said, pursing his lips. “I want… I want to find him. I need to know that he’s okay.”

Koujaku was rather confused by the sudden outburst, and even more confused at why Aoba cared so much about Mink at this point. He could understand being sad about not knowing where he was or if he was even okay at all, but… Koujaku was here now, why did Aoba need to worry about Mink? Koujaku knew he was being selfish, knew it was wrong of him to belittle Aob’a worries, but… He just didn’t want to lose Aoba.

“We have no idea where he could’ve gone, Aoba.” Koujaku said instead, hoping he could turn Aoba away from all of this.

“Then we’ll find out.” Aoba looked up at Koujaku, and they locked eyes. “We’ll search for him. Please, Koujaku. I’m really worried.”

How was Koujaku supposed to say no to a face like that?

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry if the end seemed rushed!! i didnt want to put too much detail on them exploring for mink just yet :^)  
> let me know if you have any suggestions!  
> kudos are always nice! thank you for reading <3


End file.
